“As far as we know, it’s never been done
before,” said Eric Hollinger, tribal liaison for the
repatriation office of the Smithsonian National
History Museum. “This is the first time that
we’re aware of that an object has been digitally
scanned and repaired and a new one made to
replace it and be made it into a sacred object.”
The replacement hat was made through careful
study of the original hat, 3D imaging and
consultation with the clan, Hollinger said.
“It shows what can happen when people work
together,” Wilson said.
The new hat came to be after Harold Jacobs,
cultural resource specialist for Central Council of
Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, noticed
the hat was in the Smithsonian’s collection,
Hollinger and Wilson said.
Jacobs asked if it would be possible for the
original hat to be digitized and repaired,
Hollinger said. He said at the time something
similar had been done to replicate Dakl’aweidi
clan hats, and it could be possible.
The Smithsonian got in touch with Wilson and
the Kiks.adi clan, who expressed interest in
proceeding with the project.
“We began that process with seven years of
consultation and work to try to figure out where
to get the wood, where to get the funds for it,
how to do it, what’s the appropriate ways to do
it,” Hollinger said. “The clan and the several units
of the museum, the Smithsonian Institution
Exhibits and digitization program office of the
Smithsonian worked with the Natural History
Museum to acquire the wood and the materials
and work with the clan for guidance on how to
attach things.”
Funding for that effort came from a $26,000
grant from the Smithsonian Women’s
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